Chapter 3 – What is “Good” and What is “Evil”?
What is good? My definition of good is something that contributes to my eternal happiness. This definition allows everything and everyone on this planet to be considered potentially “good,” you just have to know how to find the part that is “good.” If your intention is to get some sort of pleasure in the form of happiness from an experience, just look for the positive aspect of that experience.
Within every situation and experience there is, and have always been, negative and positive points. I am sure you have considered the fact that for everything you believe, there is another person who believes exactly the opposite. So, who is right? Who is wrong? Do you really believe in the depths of your heart and soul that everything that you accept as true is a rule and should hold true for everyone else on the planet? Yes, most people believe that certain behaviors are considered “evil,” however I want to try and persuade you that the word “evil” is relative.
Recently, I saw an interview with Jeffrey Dahmer. If you don’t know who Jeffrey Dahmer is, let me fill you in. He is a high profile serial killer who used to invite his victims to his home, have sex with them and if they tried to leave, he would kill them, have sex with them again, then dismember them. If this guy doesn’t sound “evil” to you, I don’t know who or what else would. However, the more I observed and listened to this human monster explain to the public why he would commit such atrocious acts, I realized that I felt a little sorry for him. Yes, I know that I shouldn’t have felt sorry for him, but I did. You see, when he was young, his parents, who were very loving to Jeffrey, did not get along with each other and that had a significant impact on Jeffrey as a child. He explained that he wasn't ever going to get married because he never wanted to go through anything like that. He also needed surgery for a double hernia around the age of 4 and felt violated by strangers exploring his body and not explaining why they were doing it. This experience evidently marked his subconscious forever. We have to assume that incidents in our childhood have a much bigger influence on our overall adult personality than we think.
Jeffrey Dahmer sounds to me like he was in fact a very sensitive child, possibly more sensitive than the average child. This would explain the incredible impact these experiences had on him. In fact, he said that his desire was not to kill these unfortunate people, but to keep them around. I believe that Jeffrey Dahmer, one of the most vicious serial killers in history, needed love and just did not know how to go about getting it, let alone keeping it. He was once quoted as saying that if he would be killed in prison, that would be the best thing that could happen. He was later bludgeoned to death in prison.
My point in telling you all of this is that we cannot see into the minds of other people. We don’t know what makes anyone but ourselves tick. We sometimes don’t even know what makes ourselves tick. We cannot judge, because we don’t know enough. Is it fair that Jeffrey Dahmer seemed to have been born to the wrong family who didn’t know how to fuel their son’s needs in the best way possible? Can’t we say the same for every child? Do you really think that every parent has the exact tools they need to raise each individual child in the most suitable way? Don’t forget that our children are never exactly like us. No one is exactly like you. We have to use a higher form of understanding to be able to deal with other people, including our own children. We can never apply our thinking to someone else or disaster may ensue. The question is, how do we acquire this higher form of understanding? Where does it come from and how do we know when we have it?
When we are working at breaking down our ego, we have to decide what is “good” and what is “evil” within us by trying to align it with our soul, which is what holds our truest and most glorious desires. This is how we can distinguish between our soul’s desires and our ego’s desires effectively. If our desire accomplishes eternal happiness, we can define this desire as “good,” otherwise we may as well define it as “evil.”
You might respond to these ideas by saying that you just don’t care about what happens after you die, after all, you will be dead. Maybe you feel like the only time you have is now in the physical world and you need to make the best out of it. This talk would only be coming from someone who insists on living life filled with temporary pleasures and this person will never truly understand what it means to fulfill the desire for eternal happiness. They will never understand the pleasure of having free will in this world and what free will was meant to be.
There is nothing wrong with fulfilling temporary desires, especially if you don’t know what you are missing. However, this behavior is like only eating french fries because they taste so good and you can’t imagine that any other food could be better. Think about all the other amazing food you would be missing out on.
Good vs. Evil – Conflicts that we Face in Our World Today
The way I see it, there are two huge conflicts in this world happening right now as we speak. One is between the rich and the poor and the other is among religions. Let me ask you a very important question. Which side of each conflict would be considered the “good” side and which side would be considered the “bad” side?
Of course, your first instinct may be to answer based solely on your own perspective. Of course, I’m going to remind you that you can’t do that. You must consider every perspective.
Journalists have a very difficult job. Many times their job requires that they report a story according to the perspective of whoever is paying their salary. How many times have you listened to a story on Fox News Channel and turned it to CNN and the same story is being reported, but from a completely different perspective? A great example of this would be the Israeli-Palestinian controversy. We all know the controversy and I am definitely not going to discuss that, but why do Fox and CNN have two different versions of what is going on? Fox is way more pro-Israeli and presents a picture that Israel is defending itself against terrorists who want to take the entire country down. CNN paints the picture that Israel is unfairly occupying their Palestinian neighbors’ territory for too long and too intensely and something needs to be done about it immediately. How could our two top news stations have such conflicting view points? What are we, the ones they are reporting to, supposed to believe?
Well, this is the way it works.
If you like Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity, you watch Fox News. If you like Anderson Cooper and Larry King, you watch CNN. If you like a little of everything, you watch both and then you become confused. In other words, whatever sings to you is what you listen to. If you want to wake up, allow everything to sing to you and hope that you become confused enough to finally start asking questions.
The Middle East Conflict
I know I said before that I’m not going to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but I can’t help it, I just have to.
Maybe the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is just another ‘which came first’ story. Something happened that caused tension in the region and from that point on each side thinks the other side is to blame. What I am suggesting is that “something” happened in that region long ago, because each side has a different opinion of what happened and many years have passed and no one really remembers or really knows the truth anymore. The leaders on each side are only going to pass down a story to their people that will represent the own perspective so that their people will assist them in fighting the “enemy.” Now, each side has to maintain a stronger front than the other side to defend their position that they are not the ones to blame. Every generation, growing numbers of Palestinians and Israelis are enlisted to fight in a war that has been perpetrated by its leaders and misrepresented to its followers. If we continue to forget that we don’t even know the cause of this anymore and continue to believe the hearsay and the brainwash that the media presents us with, we will persist on this path to absolutely nowhere and nothing.
In other words, does it really matter what the cause was at this point when the effect is clearly terrible? We can say for sure that the cause of the problem was not because each side tried to develop peaceful relations with one another. Since we know the cause of this problem was not because we tried to make peace, my advice, if you are asking, is to forget about the original cause and start over. Accept that whatever caused the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to occur, should not have, because we know the effect was undesirable. We know that the cause could not have been an attempt at peace, because we know that has not happened, yet. Now, using logic, let’s look take a further look at what I am saying.
Given:
Something happened in the country of Israel many years ago that caused endless bloodshed and unrest in the region (original cause).
There is still tension in this region many years later that is leading to much violence and world wide concern (original cause = long lasting negative effect(s)).
People on both sides of the story are suffering. Many Palestinian families are living in substandard conditions and are not allowed complete freedom in their own territories. Many Israeli families wake up everyday and live in fear of random terrorist attacks happening within the streets of their own country (original cause = complete negative effect, meaning NO ONE IS HAPPY ON EITHER SIDE!).
The Palestinians are attempting to defend what we call their constitutional right to freedom, liberty and justice for all.
The Israelis are attempting to defend what we call their constitutional right to freedom, liberty and justice for all.
Attempts at peace were never seriously tried (new cause).
If peace could exist in this region, many people would be much happier and less people would die unnecessarily (new cause=positive long term effect).
If war continues in this region, people will die unnecessarily (original cause = negative long term effect).
Original Cause of Unrest in Middle East = zero
(who knows and who really cares at this point?)
Palestinian People = a
Israeli People = b
Peace (“good” effect) = c
War (“bad” effect) = d
This is what the equation looks like right now:
(a+b) + zero = d
Here is what our equation should look like:
(a+b) – zero = c
Look, I am not naïve enough to think that Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas are going to start making peace deals just because I, or anybody else for that matter, says that they should go ahead and forget all of these years of turmoil for the sake of peace. But what I am saying is that we, the little guys, really don’t know the whole story and we really don’t need to know the whole story because there is fanatical violence happening right now as we speak and many innocent people are dying. No one in the region is happy and these feelings of unrest are, and have been, carrying into the general population for a while now. The disease of violence, anger and fear is coming for us. Believe it or not, by taking sides in a war that you know nothing about and have nothing to do with, you are actually inviting this disease into you. All we know is that there is no peace and peace is what we need. I am simply proposing that we stop taking sides in a fight that has nothing to do with us and thus adding fuel to a flame that should have been extinguished long ago by the ones involved.
The fear here might be that we think that if we don’t take the “good” side, the “evil” side will win. So, we think that by voicing an opinion one way or another, regardless of the “facts,” we can join forces with the right or “good” side. We need to simply try to remember what we already know could be true, that “good” and “evil” are only in the eyes of the beholder, and unless we have all the “facts” that were beheld, we are not equipped to make any judgment as to what would be considered “good” and what would be considered “evil.” Also, “evil,” which, according to me is anything that acts in opposition to the Life Force of the Universe or anything that works against the benefit of the whole, cannot, by definition, survive because it is working against itself. Therefore, we never have a reason to fear “evil.”
Learn from our history. If we continue to believe that there is a chance that “evil” will dominate our world one day, we are setting ourselves up for disaster. By believing that “evil” can have any power at all, we are taking that power that we believe “evil” has away from the Life Force of the Universe and giving it to “evil.” We are not even aware that we are doing it. If you believe that terrorists have more power than the Life Force of the Universe to destroy the world that was created by the Life Force of the Universe, you are not thinking logically. Even if you don’t want to believe that we should leave everything up to our Life Force, you have got to agree that we should leave the things that we can’t handle up to It. Terrorism can barely be handled by countries that are experts in the minds of terrorists. We little people definitely can’t handle terrorism, nor do we want to. We can, however, deal with ourselves.
Treat everyone that you come in contact with on a daily basis nicely and respectfully. This is how we can deal with terrorism
Another reason why we would have no logical reason to believe that “the evil doers” can destroy this planet is because no “evil” empire still exists. They always, as far as I know, implode. My definition of “evil” is anything that acts in opposition to the Life Force of the Universe, or anything that works against the benefit of the whole. By this definition, “evil” is not bad or good. It is misguided. “Evil” at the core does not care about the Universe at all; it only cares for itself. It can only take and never give. “Evil” thinks that taking is necessary for its survival. “Evil” does not realize that the “power” of evil is fear, and fear can only come from an energy source other than love.
Every time we fear something, it is because we don’t trust the Life Force of the Universe to take care of us. If we fear anything, energy is being transferred to the object of fear. Now that it has energy invested in it, the object becomes powerful. However, its powers are only valuable to the one who gave it the energy. Now the person who feared the object and the object itself share part of the same energy. In other words, by fearing something, you give it power to be feared by sharing energy with it.
Am I “evil” if I don’t trust the Life Force of the Universe for everything? I would have to say that I have been and am currently “evil” on occasion. If we were all completely giving creatures, who would the Life Force of the Universe give to? We all must have “evil” in us because we are not the Life Force of the Universe. In order to allow us to receive, we had to be different that the Life Force of the Universe. We had to need something in order for the Universe to flourish and give us all the beautiful things that we have.
So, is it “evil” to take? The Universe needs us to take from it for the sake of its survival. Yes, we are all “evil,” but there is a purpose for “evil.” Without “evil” we would never be able to see good. It has taken billions of years already, but slow and steady progress has been made and with a little effort on our part we can transform this planet by choosing not to be “evil.” Instead, we can choose to thank “evil” for helping us see the good in everything. Gratitude and appreciation are the only things that we can give back to the Life Force of the Universe. By giving gratitude and appreciation to the Life Force of the Universe for everything that we have, including “evil, we are refusing to succumb to “evil” energy and instead, we use loving energy to extinguish the “evil” energy, because, as we all should know by now, loving energy is the only energy that really has any power. “Evil” energy only has the power we give to it, which is none. We don’t have power to give without receiving it from the Life Force of the Universe. We cannot give loving energy to “evil” energy. “Evil” will not accept love.
Is our Ego “Evil”?
I’m sure most of us have read somewhere or heard somewhere that our ego is the root of all that is bad. Well maybe our ego, if fed that it is special only because of our possessions, physical appearance or current status in life, will desire those items in order to feed itself and will die without them. When you can’t fulfill the ego’s desire, which is to feel special, it becomes a very unhappy ego. It needs its nourishment, i.e. all the things that make it important.
Or, on the other end of the spectrum, if the ego doesn’t ever receive the material possessions that it thinks it needs to grow, it will weaken and will need help from other egos, either to continuously tell it how good it is (even though it doesn’t have as many possessions or as much power or what is considered physically beautiful to others) or to confirm the fact that it has no meaning or value to anyone else, thereby disabling it, because it has nothing to “live” for.
If your ego feeds off of your kindness to others, which is the same food that feeds the soul (keeping in mind the simple fact that your intentions try to remain honest whenever possible) you can never have too many people to help. Therefore, you don’t have to harbor guilt about something you might have done that may have brought negative results because you know – and I mean you know – that your intentions were good.
But, you will also know that in order to feed your ego and your soul optimally, you will have to work towards minimizing negative results when you are dealing with other people. The ego wants to be fed the same thing that the soul wants - mutual kindness rather than confrontation. The unification of the ego and soul can only handle confrontation as a once in a while snack, otherwise it may get sick.
Food for Thought:
Our soul deeply desires to feel special. After all, what makes us happier than feeling special to one person, not to mention the potential of feeling special to the entire world? If the ego and the soul share the desire to feel “special,” that would mean that the ego and soul are in alignment here which would be considered “good” in terms of eternal happiness. However, if I need to feel “special” at the expense of others, I cannot forget that this would be considered an “evil” action or something that is acting in opposition to the Life Force of the Universe.
The Rich vs. Poor Conflict
There seems to be quite a disparity between the rich and the poor throughout the world. It seems that our leaders and the government that supports them somehow manage to keep the money on top and make it nearly impossible for the rest of us to get a piece of the pie, so to speak. I say to you, you can only be upset about that if money has power over you.
If you can give up thinking that money is all you need, even at the expense of your happiness, and stand up for your right to entitlement to everything this earth has to offer, you do not need to listen to anybody tell you what to do, especially if you are right. People are entitled to basic human dignities such as food, a safe place to sleep and peace of mind. I believe that I am entitled to these things just as my children are entitled to them. We are, in essence, the children of the Life Force of the Universe and It wants to give us the basics to help us survive the journey. We do not have to work for these things, they will automatically be given to us, but you must believe that they will be.
If you believe that money has power and that you need money to provide for your basic needs, then you will have no choice but to rely on the thing you gave your power to, or, in other words, your energy to.
However, if you don’t give your power (energy) to money, then money does not receive power from you (energy) and cannot control you. If, on the other hand, you give your energy (power) to money, then you will depend on money for energy (power). You will require money to satisfy your need for energy (power). This is the same principle as in any relationship.
By no means do we assume that money and power are “bad” things. On the contrary, you should have respect for money and power, as you would any of the creations of the Life Force of the Universe, but don’t let them cloud your thinking. You do not need either for your happiness. When we take the power (energy) of money away as a group and hand that energy (power) over to eternal happiness instead, it will disappear like every powerful empire has done throughout history.
6 Rules to Live By
Here are some ways that, if you are not practicing them already, are small steps in the right direction towards taking power away from things that do not move towards your assumed goal of happiness.
Every time you get angry, analyze why and try to figure out a better solution in the future.
Never assume someone means to hurt you even if they do.
Treat everybody as though they have innocent intentions and watch what effects it will have on the other person. This is how you take power away from someone. Don’t let them be successful when they flex.
Try to find the silver lining in every situation.
There usually is one if you dig deep enough. Whatever you do, don’t ignore the situation because any emotions you are holding back are gathering in those hidden files in that part of your brain that needs to be reprogrammed so you’re just pushing off the inevitable.
Try and be as honest as possible in all of your relationships.
When you act honestly, the Life Force of the Universe will want to return the favor. Once you start acting honestly with “unarmed truth,” most people will give you the same respect. Before you try to argue this point, you must first experience it in motion. Try treating everyone you know with great respect (without letting people walk all over you, I’ll discuss that soon). For example, if you are not busy one night and your friend happens to call you for a favor, don’t tally in your mind who has done who more favors. Do your friend the favor because you want to and they deserve it just for being a good friend, even if in the back of your mind they “owe” you one. Just do it. Great rewards will follow if you take these opportunities to give of yourself selflessly, from the heart.
Whenever you have a chance to help a poor stranger on the street, don’t just take the opportunity begrudgingly, run for that opportunity!
These are golden opportunities. When you can have a positive impact on another person’s life for no personal gain, other than wanting to be in a good mood, you are showing someone else how good it feels for someone to have a random act of kindness thrown at them. The more you do practice kindness, the more people you will bring sincere pleasure. That pleasure is catching. Most people feel wonderful when they do something for someone and that person can’t stop thanking them and telling them that they appreciate it. We love the feeling we get when we do something we feel is so negligible compared to the pleasure that person gets from receiving it. This is an important concept to think about for a moment. Concentrate on the fact that when we give of ourselves to a loved one and they seem to not appreciate it, we are disappointed sometimes to the point that we might not do another thing for that person ever again. Now concentrate on how it might feel if you were to give a twenty dollar bill to a stranger that is on the checkout line in front of you and is short $20. Why does it feel better to help a stranger and not a loved one? We want appreciation. I rest my peace.
There is nothing wrong with receiving appreciation. You have just received energy (power) from the person who is appreciating you. In the ideal Universe you can now take that energy (power) and pass it around to those that need it most. No one loses. On the other hand, when you hog up all the appreciation and don’t pass out any to anyone else, people aren’t as likely to share their energy (power) with you; you might just have to fight for it. If this fulfills you, who am I to judge? Otherwise, consider showing appreciation to others once in a while.
If you do not feel at peace about doing something for someone else do not waste your time doing it.
At the same time that you run around and do only good things for people, don’t forget that there are a lot of people that haven’t read my book yet and are still inside the belief that the ego needs anything other than love for their energy (power) and will do anything to get it. Remember, the ego cannot survive without some kind of energy or power to feed it.
I do not want to give my “good” or positive energy away just to feed an ego that is nothing but a never ending pit. I generally, if the option is made clear to me by the Life Force of the Universe, choose not to give any of my “good” intentioned energy to a black hole most likely never to be seen again and not used for any positive purpose in the Universe. If I sense that after a few times of trying to supply someone else with my energy, out of truly good intentions, and seeing absolutely no positive results, I know that is the point I must stop trying. I am wasting my energy.
This feeling of wasting energy comes from the fact that the person you are sincerely trying to supply energy to, is being reflected back to you by the Life Force of the Universe because they deny energy from the source of love. They only want energy from the source that gives them power – anything but love. Meaning, all the good intentioned energy that you may have showered this unappreciative person with may be sent back to you by the Life Force of the Universe and all the while you may be bottling up this returned energy which will eventually need to come out – you know what I’m talking about here. Long story short, you have to figure out why you feel uncomfortable. Most likely, you have something to say and you are not expressing yourself.
In other words you have pent up emotion that needs to be expressed until it is understood. The Life Force of the Universe will not even let you – even if you want to – supply this person with your energy – for that person’s benefit! Let’s just called this process ego-detox. If you provide this well intentioned energy freely to everyone, there are some people who use that energy to do things that they just don’t have the energy for. For example, someone might ask you for a favor, like “could you watch my kids for an hour?” or “as a manager, you have to be available at all hours just in case we need you” or better yet, “you’re a plumber and my good friend, my toilet is clogged and I thought maybe, because you like me so much, you could pop on down and unclog it for me.” These individuals want something from you that they would never waste their own attention or energy on.